44 special light loads

T

tedbeau

New member
I am looking for loads to shoot out of a Charter Arms Bulldog 44 Special.
I don't want to make the Elmer Keith loads. I just want something easy to shoot in this light gun for plinking.

Since I may use the gun and loads in IDPA bug division I would still need to make power factor which is only 95 for Bug.
I have read a lot of post saying that Unique is a good powder for the 44 Special and I have a jug of it, but most of the data I have seen starts way above that power factor level.

I would even be happy with a load using a 200 grain bullet at 650 FPS which would keep me above the standard IDPA power factor of 125.

So does anyone have a nice low power load for 44 special using Unique?
 
Cast 165s or 180s. Only have 180 grain data in my old Lyman book. There is Unique data though.
Start is 7.0(877 fps). Max is 11.5(1351 fps).
There are a few cast 185 grain loads on Handloads.com, but not using Unique.
Kind of odd the max load data on Alliant's site was tested with a 5.5" barrel. Velocities would be slower out of a Bulldog. Shows a cast 240 runs only 820 FPS with 6.3 of Unique.
Hodgdon's site 165 grain data is for a cast bullet. 8" barrel for testing. Ignore the velocities and try a few.
 
The Bulldog and other small .44's were made for the 200 gr bullet and the sights are setup for that. My choice would be a 200 gr bullet and probably Power Pistol or Universal.

If I had Unique I'd use that but I'm not a fan of it because I don't like the way it meters. Hornady lists 5.2 gr of Unique with the 200 gr HP at 650 fps. Power Pistol at 5.9 and Universal 5.8 for the same velocity.

I would not recommend shooting jacketed bullets slower then that as sometimes the jacket stays behind and the lead core goes out the barrel.
 
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You can do very well with Trail Boss or Unique for light loads in a 44 special.

I believe I use 5.1 grains of Trail Boss under a 200 gr LRN, and its quite mild.
 
5.1grs of HP38/231 and most any lead bullet, makes great light loads...it is my plinking load...just got through loading some a little while ago.
 
Thanks

Sorry, I forgot to mention I was really planning on using plated bullets. I know that a lot of people use lead bullets in their 44's but since I may want to shoot this indoors and my club doesn't allow plain lead at the indoor range for IDPA I would just as soon stick with plated bullets.

I am thinking that I will be buying these from Xtreme bullets. The price seems reasonable:
http://www.xtremebullets.com/44-200-RNFP-p/xc44-200fp-b0500.htm
 
club doesn't allow plain lead at the indoor range
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Yea I know what you mean, shooting lead bullets kills Penguins and panda bears.
But I can tell you where its going. One day, NO LEAD!
Next, "reloads are unsafe so the only rounds you can fire here you have to purchase here"
Strange how if you purchased lead cowboy loads there you could fire them in their range.
http://www.xtremebullets.com/dealof...CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED-=deal-of-the-day
I have used Xtremebullets in 9mm for the same reason. Don't push them hard and what ever you do don't crimp.
 
I've always treated plated bullets as though they were lead for loading data. Nothing wrong with plated as lots of people use them.
 
I shot a lot of 240 grain soft swaged Hornady bullets through a 3" Bulldog at one time. The load written on the target would have been about 600 fps for a power factor of 144. The primers would have been Federal 150's and the cases either Winchester or Remington. I remember I got a set of large profile birdshead grip panels that wrapped around the grip frame and extended down a little to provide a pinky perch. That helped a lot and didn't make the profile unacceptably large.

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You can see from that target (fired offhand, btw, back when I was competing in conventional pistol a lot; off bags that astonishingly consistent little gun shot mostly touching holes at 25 yards, but unfortunately I didn't preserve any of those targets) the sights were timed for a lighter bullet (this was a 6:00 hold) and they were a little left. I subsequently filed out the sight notch in the frame (this was not the target model) to center the windage and re-blued it, but left the front sight alone.

The soft swaged bullets seemed to suit that light load well. Your plated ones should do OK with for light loads. I don't know what barrel length you have. They made them from 2.2" to 4.2" at different times. Without that information, I can't really guess at the velocity you will get, but a rough estimate suggests the Trail Boss starting load of 4.3 grains will pass the 625 fps number you need for a power factor of 125 even in the shortest barrel length they made. Hodgdon's data uses an 8.15" unvented test barrel, not a revolver barrel, so their velocity is higher. But Trail Boss is great and far cleaner burning than the Bullseye I was using back when I shot that target. I recommend you get some if you can.
 

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Looking at my Hornady Book 9th ED., it looks to me like around 6 grains of Unique with plated Xtremes would compare to their 200 gr XTP in a respectable 750 fps range. Their test gun was a Charter Arms.
 
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Thanks for all the replies. I have used Xtreme's in 40 caliber so I will probably go that way. Since someone suggested that they thought the Bulldog sights were set for 200 grains (I know it tends to shoot WAY low with 165 grain XTP's) and since I really don't want to run a 240 grain down below 600 FPS I am going to go with the 200 grain. I have a jug of Unique so it looks like I'll start somewhere around 5.5 or 6 grains and chrono to see if I can get a decent accuracy with something around 650 FPS
 
That's a hellofa nice target, Unclenick off bags, let alone offhand. Oh to have those young eyes again eh?

I've had very good luck with a variety of .44 Specials, albeit much heavier guns (3 Ruger .44 Spl's, a Colt 3rd gen SAA, and a Smith M24) with 6.5 gr of Win 231 and any really good 240 gr LSWC. It's a terrific load but probably to heavy in recoil for what the OP is looking for.

As always, the load above was worked up for my guns, you should consult a manual, consider pressure issues and work up for yours.

Rod
 
rodfac said:
Oh to have those young eyes again eh?
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No kidding!

My Bulldog's precision was no accident. The gun was originally a gift from my dad, but it wouldn't stay on a paper plate at 25 yards. So I sent it to the factory with a complaint about that. The factory diagnosed that they'd twisted the frame during assembly. Apparently they destroyed the damaged frame and reissued the serial number on an entirely new gun (some other parts didn't look exactly the same) they had selected to be sure I had one that shot well. It took about three months, but was worth the wait. I then worked on the single-action trigger until it was a crisp 2.5 lb, and the gun shot like a house on fire thereafter.
 
I have an old 3" Bulldog in .44 Special and it shoots very well. IMHO Unique is a bit slow for light loads in .44 Spl. Sure, it will work, but I would suggest a faster powder (WST, Competition, WST, Bullseye, 700X (Mine loves 700X with lead), etc.) for light loads in .44 Spl. It already works at very low pressure even at max. The faster powders are suited to full power loads in .44 Spl as well.

I shot a lot of Magnus 200 Gr SWCs using 700X in this pistol.
 
200gn X-treme Plated RNFP

My go-to plated round for 44 Special is an X-treme 200gn RNFP w/ 6.1gn TiteGroup. These: http://www.xtremebullets.com/44-200-RNFP-p/xc44-200fp-b0500.htm

I've chronographed these bunches of times, and they always come in between 896 - 905 f/s through my 629 5". Call it 900 f/s. Good consistent range shooter. Keep in mind, you're probably giving up about 100 f/s through your 3" Bulldog.

(Added info: That "896 - 905" statement is not for each shot. That's where each 10-round average comes in. Didn't mean to imply an unrealistic Extreme Spread. It is a very consistent loading in its own right, though.)

That may be a little hot for your application, but the charge weight could definitely be turned down and still be a consistent clean burner. Should put you right in the ballpark.

And TiteGroup is generally available and is a natural for plated bullets (burns hot, which is not good for lead).

So that's my plated 44 Special round. Hopefully, it'll give you a little data worth chewing on.
 
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I like the Penn 185 DEWC for light loads in 44 spl if speed loading isn't a concern.
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They're my #1 bullet for my 5" 629. Great bullet. Makes your target look like you went out there with a hole punch ;). Neat.

I put them over 5.8 grains of Bullseye for about 970 f/s. A great target shooting round with a little bit of snap (when I don't want "snap," I'll shoot my 38). Additional Info: This is a 44 Special loading.

The only reason I didn't mention the Penn 185 DEWC in the first place is because the OP mentioned using for IDPA (which means speedloading); and he wants plated info.
 
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